A Black Woman teach English in Japan

Hi!

My name is Aleah, and I am pursuing my dream of teaching English as a foreign language in Japan this summer. For 9 years, I have been studying the Japanese language and, in the process, learning about the intricacies belonging to the Japanese culture; cultivating an ever-growing passion for the language and the culture. During my junior and senior year of high school, I faced a very real and all-too common dilemma: what did I want to after high school? This dilemma took the shape of two existential questions in me two: where did my passions and interests lie? and if I am going to pursue a career in higher education, which school should I attend and why?

After given the opportunity to do a homestay with a sister school in the Summer of 2018, it was clear to me that the study of the Japanese culture and language was the answer to this dilemma. From that point onward, I realized just how much I wanted this passion to become not only an integral part of my character, but a passion I could build a career around; a career rooted within cultural appreciation and the preservation and celebration of something I felt, and continue to feel to this day, I held a genuine love for.

During my senior year of college, I was given another opportunity to study abroad for 6 months in Tokyo. The experience shaped me into the person I am today, exposing me to new experiences and building in me a newfound sense of cultural appreciation and the celebration of a culture I loved. The Tokyo I lived in for those 6 months was one of cultural enclaves and community engagement; those 6 months were the most gratifying and fulfilling months I have experienced.

After graduating in May of last year, I wanted nothing more but to return and give back to the friends, teachers, families, and other community members I had cultivated real, genuine relationships with. These individuals cultivated in me a real sense of community and wellbeing; kind souls who became integral parts of my character.

Currently, I work as an assistant teacher at an intercultural K-8 Montessori school that promotes and encourages sentiments similar to those I experienced and connected with during my stay in Tokyo. Talking to the teachers I work with, interacting with other community members, and most importantly, working with children who express their interests and passions so freely and independently, I not only have a greater sense of why they chose this line of work, but a better understanding of why I chose the Japanese language as my language of study as well as why I need to return to Japan as soon as possible. I want to feel the joy of a child who just learned how to solve a math problem or who learned how to read a book by themselves. For me, the joy of learning has no language barrier. Rather, it shows to me the many different mediums and facets human connection can take and my place within said connection.

Having these necessary funds means I would be able to pay for rent, the necessities needed for everyday life, and most importantly, classroom materials needed to help my future students learn and help instill in them similar sentiments I experienced and learned during my time in Japan.

If you took the time to read this, I greatly appreciate your time and energy. Truly.

Thank you so much!

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